An Archaeology of Native American Art

This seminar is an introduction to the art and material culture of the indigenous peoples of North America. The regional coverage includes the continental United States and Canada, focusing on the peoples of Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, Plains, Pacific Northwest, and the Arctic and Subarctic. Topics addressed include art and artifact, function and symbol, innovation and tradition, and museums and representational practices, ethics and repatriation. Special attention will be given to the changing relations between museums and contemporary Native peoples. The seminar will make extensive use of the archaeological and ethnographic collections of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.